Jobless rate sneaking back up in Milam

State rate remains at 8%; US rate 9.1%

Unemployment numbers show Milam County heading up, but not in a good way with the jobless rate raising slightly for the area, according to reports released Friday by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC).

Jobless numbers rose slightly for the month, up two-tenths at 9.8 percent. The rate is down a tenth from the same time in May 2010 where 9.9 percent of county residents were unemployed.

The county’s unemployment rate had been in double figures 26 of the last 29 months.

Milam’s May rate was based on a labor force of 10,847 with 9,780 working and 1,067 unemployed.

The labor force in the county has declined 466 people compared to May 2010. Before April, the county’s unemployment rate had been above the 10 percent margin since January 2009.

Last month’s jobless rate of 9.6 was the lowest for Milam County since December 2008. At that time it as the highest since the mid- 1980s.

The labor force declined 30 in Milam County compared to last month.

AROUND THE AREA—Rates for the unemployed rose across the Central Texas area from April, seeing a slight increase in all neighboring counties.

Both Bell and Williamson counties rose .3 percent on the month, where Burleson County saw just a one-tenth increase.

STATEWIDE—Texas tota l nonfarm employment was up by 8,800 jobs in May for a total gain of 205,400 jobs from a year ago.

The Texas seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained steady at 8.0 percent for May, down from 8.1 percent a year ago and well below the U.S. unemployment rate for May of 9.1 percent.

“Texas continues to weather the storm,” said TWC chairman Tom Pauken. “Although national unemployment has gone up, our unemployment rate in Texas remains at 8.0 percent. There is continued private-sector job growth, and this includes an additional 10,900 manufacturing jobs since this time last year.”

The Midland Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) had the lowest May unemployment rate in the state at 4.6 percent. The Amarillo MSA had the second lowest unemployment rate in May at 5.4 percent, followed by the Lubbock MSA at 5.9 percent (not seasonally adjusted).